Key Information

School Results - Key Stage 5

School Results - Key Stage 5

Data in KS5 is collated for students in years 12, 13 and 14. According to their varying starting points, students complete independence, vocational and academic pathways following a broad range of qualifications at level 1, 2 and 3. St. Dominic’s caters for the needs of the most complex students who are more likely to need vocational or independence progression pathways. Students do not always stay at St. Dominic’s Sixth Form for 2 years – student placements can be secured for 1, 2 or 3 years depending on the needs of the student.

Attainment

KS5 students can attain qualifications in year 12,13 and 14. Depending on their need, students can make vertical progress building on their academic strengths and interests, or ‘lateral’ progress, broadening their portfolio of qualifications and working on key life skills in order to access the next step at a higher level. For those students who did not attain a C grade at GCSE English and mathematics, there is the option of resitting or following a functional English or mathematics qualification.

17% of students resitting English GCSE passed at C or above compared to 9% nationally in 2014

60 % of students resitting Maths GCSE passed at C or above compared to 9% nationally in 2014

All leavers were able to access their chosen placements with the results they achieved

0% of students were NEET at the end of their KS5 placements compared to 11% nationally in 2013

Sixth Form Qualification Results

The qualifications tabled below only demonstrate the range of qualifications students achieved in 2015-16. As students at Sixth Form do not always stay for the same length of time, this data represents students at the end of Year 12, 13 and 14.

Qualifications Summary Data

Analysis

Results for sixth form students compare favourably to those of their national counterparts, outperforming them in each category. Students of low, middle and high ability perform equally well. While results for English resits appear low for students attaining a C grade or higher, this is 8% higher than students nationally. Mathematics resits were comparably high in comparison to national results.

Progress

Progression data identifies whether students have met or exceeded expected progress, or where progress has been lower than expected. This is similar to the flagging system used by the school in the ongoing assessment / monitoring of progress and ensures that interventions are in place if required to close the gap.

50% of students who completed LASER Level 2 in Horticulture made higher than expected progress; the other 50% met expected progress.

80% of students who resat their maths GCSE met expected progress.

Overall in 2015-16, of the students who had not achieved a Level 2 qualification in maths on entering KS5, 28% of students progressed to a level higher than expected, 36% of students met expected progress and 36% have not yet completed their qualification.

Of the students who had not achieved a Level 2 qualification in English by the end of KS4, 41% met expected progress, 18% achieved higher than expected progress whilst 41% have not yet completed their qualification.

100% of disadvantage students met or made higher than expected progress in maths and English.

43% of disadvantaged students met expected progress in other subjects. Reasons have been identified for the 57% who made less than expected progress in their other subjects.

Sixth Form Progress

Students at St. Dominic’s are not retained for a definite period of time, unlike most college or sixth form provisions i.e. pupils do not necessarily arrive in year 12 and leave in year 13. Therefore, the presentation of progress from baseline to outcome is problematic when comparing current data to that of previous academic years. For this reason, the following graph represents a summary of student progress from baseline to the end of 2016. This may represent outcomes at the end of one, two or three years and only includes courses that are complete.

Analysis

Students of low, middle and high ability perform well across varied, individualised programmes and the data highlights the fact that the sixth form students are supported to select suitable programmes that focus on their strengths. All leavers in 2015-16, left having progressed in subjects that enabled them to transition to their chosen placements.

In the cases in which grades predicated by the teachers have been used (in the absence of a comparable subject baseline from the end of Key Stage 4), the intimate knowledge of the teaching staff in relation to the students’ abilities, and therefore the accuracy of the predictions, is apparent.

Retention

At St. Dominic’s retention rates are extremely favourable. Therefore, in order to have a meaningful data set, two measures of retention are captured. Crude retention allows us to demonstrate the number of students completing the courses they have been entered for. These statistics compare directly to national statistics for Key Stage 5 retention. Retention at St. Dominic’s is also calculated by progress against outcomes predicted at the start of Key Stage 5. Where possible a subject baseline from the end Key Stage 4 has been used. Where such a baseline is unavailable, for example for qualifications that the student has not undertaken before or for vocational option subjects, a grade predicated by the subject teacher, captured at the start of year 12, has been used.

100% of students who were submitted for moderation of their ASDAN Certificate of Personal Achievement (CoPE) met predicted outcomes.

40% of student undertaking their Art AS level met predicted outcomes.

80% of students attending college met their predicted outcomes.

50% of students who undertook a GCSE in Design and Technology met predicted outcomes.

Retention Analysis

In 7 of 12 subjects, 100% of students achieved the outcomes predicted for them at the start of KS5. Once again, this is evidence that the sixth form students are supported to select suitable programmes that focus on their strengths as well as the intimate knowledge of the teaching staff in relation to the students’ abilities, and therefore the accuracy of the predictions.

English and Maths GCSE Re-sits

Analysis

Results for sixth form students compare favourably to those of their national counterparts, outperforming them in each category. Students of low, middle and high ability perform equally well. While results for English resits appear low for students attaining a C grade or higher, this is 8% higher than students nationally. Mathematics resits were comparably high in comparison to national results.